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Israeli military aircraft carried out an immense wave of airstrikes against Syrian and Iranian military targets on February 10 in response to the downing of an Israeli F-16 by Syrian anti-aircraft fire.

The downed jet was reportedly carrying out airstrikes on Iranian targets in Syria in response to the infiltration of an Iranian drone into Israeli territory.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Israel would defend itself “against any attack against us or any attempt by Iran to establish itself against us in Syria.”

Strikes of this magnitude carried out by Israel have not been seen since the Lebanon war in 1982. They hit various targets in Syria which mainly consisted of Syria’s anti-air defenses along with Iranian targets considered as “part of Iran’s military establishment in Syria.”

Israel has become increasingly concerned of the presence of Iran, which has been supporting the Assad regime in Syria in its 7 year civil war. Israel and Iran have long held hostilities in the past with Iran threatening to wipe the former from the face of the Earth.

“Our policy is absolutely clear: Israel will defend itself from every attack and from every attempt to harm our sovereignty,” Israeli PM Netanyahu said. “Iran made such an attempt today. They violated our sovereignty, they infiltrated a drone into Israel’s territory from Syrian territory.”

The escalation of tensions between Israel and Syria in the region could prove heavily problematic for the key players involved.

The United States reiterated its support of Israel with White House Press Secretary saying, “Israel is a staunch ally of the United States, and we support its right to defend itself from the Iranian-backed Syrian and militia forces in southern Syria.”

Therefore, any further escalation between Israel and Syria, which is backed by Iran and also Russia, could likely cause the situation to spiral out of control from a regional conflict into a major global confrontation.